System and apparatus for communicating teleph



(N0 Mode-1.) 2 sheets-sheet 2. 0. T. DIOKSON.

SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING TELEPHONICALLY.

Patented May 29,1883.

No. 278,411. Y

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES T. DIOKSON,

OF CINCINNATI. OHIO.

SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING TELEPHONlCALLY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,411, dated May 29, 1883.

Application filed January 1?, 1883. (No model.)

[call whom it may concern Be itknown' that 1, CHARLES T. DICKSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at (Jincinnati,-in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Systems and Apparatus for CommunicatingTelephonically, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had-to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide certaiuimprovementsin systems ot'and means for telephonic communication, whereby a single telephonic apparatus in a building may be connected with any number of remote rootns or places in the same or other buildings, so that the occupants of the remote roomor place, by the aid of such single apparatus, may transmit and receive sounds or speech and give and receive signals fromv said remote rooms or places without the necessity of going to the room or place where such apparatus is located, and without interfering with the use of such apparatus by those in the room where it is 10- cated,-except temporarily.

Thonovel features of my invention will first be described, and then pointed out particularly in theclaims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1, Sheet1,isa sectionalview in elevation through a. building, showing the application of my invention. Fig. 2, Sheet 1, is a front view of the same. Fig. 3, Sheet 1, is a front view of a telephone, showing a modification in the manner of connecting the receiver and transmitter toa single tube. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, represents a modification, showing the application of my invention to hotel use, or use in large buildings. Fig. 5, Sheet 1, represents the call-receiving devices.

The same letters indicate like parts in all thefigures.

A represents the call-box of an ordinary Bell telephone, with its usual adjuncts, and B the usual Blake transmitter or microphone. G is the usual or any suitable receiver, hung in the customary way to the circuit-lever D. We will, suppose these parts, which constitute an ordinary telephone, to be situated in a room on the ground-floor of a building or residence, and against the wall, as is customary. Within the wall are embedded ordinary speakingtubes, E and F, of any material, though tin is perhaps the best. These tubes extend to the first, second, third, or any number of stories in the building, and, by means of branches, from room to room on the different floors, or

else by independent tubes to all the rooms, if desired. Again, if desired, these tubes may run up by the side of the wall, instead of being embedded, and may be covered by a boxing to hide them from view. The lower end of the tube E has connected to it an extension, Gr, which projects out over the top of the call-box A, and has its end, which terminates in a flaring mouth-piece, bent down. directly over and close to the upturned mouth of the receiver or telephone 0 as it hangs upon the lever D. The lower end of the tube F has an extension, I, which is brought out of the wall andto one side of or over the transmitter B, as shown. To thisextension is connected, by a swiveljoint at a, the flaring mouth-piece H, which can be turned to fitsnnglyover the diaphragmopening of the transmitter B, or be swung aside out of ihe way when it is desired to speak directly into the transmitter without employing the tube F and its connections.

'1 have so far shown the arrangement and telephone, and we will suppose these tubes extending to various rooms on the different floors,with suitable mouth-pieces,with or without flexible connections, opening side by side or close together into said room's. Upon the wall of each room into which the speaking-- tubes extend, and suitably near to the mouthpieces, is a call-box, T, of any desired shape or construction, provided with the following instrumentalities: a crank disk or wheel, J,

which passes an endless cord, wire, or belt, I), which enters a small tube, K, extending down and opening near a drum or disk, L, keyed upon the call-bell crank-shaft, around which drum L the cord or wire I) likewise passes, so that the turning of the disk J'by means ot'its crank will turn the call-bell crank-shaft and ring the bell. The drum or disk L should have as many circumferential grooves as there are call-boxes in the various rooms, so as to receive the belts or cords of each; also attached to each call-box are two crank-levers connections of the speaking-tubes with the with a circumferential groove, in and around I its mouth sealed against the mouth of the speaking-tube E, and at the same time the circuit will be established by freeingthe lever 1) from the weightot' the receiver. The cranklever (I is connected by a cord or wire, 1', likewise passing down through the tubcf, or an imle -iendent. tube, to a pivoted catclngi, so arranged that upon turning the crank 'd the circuit'buttou R will be pressed in to enable the call-bell to be rung. All of the cords or wires 6 and 1'. from the various call-boxes may be connected together or run indepeiulently to the receiver-lifting fork and bnttou-depressing lever, either in one and the same tube or in separate tuhes,orin the speaking-tube or tubes.

Now, from the above description it will be readily understood that the telephone can be used directly from the room in which it is situated by merely turning aside the connecting mouth-piece 11, thereby uncovering the microphone, and by taking down the receiver U in the usual way. Alter use in this way the mouth-piece H is turned back over the microphone and the receiver is hung up. We will now suppose t'hat the call-bell is rung from the exchange or another distant telephone. The extension of the pipe or tube E is situated close to one of the call-bells, M, the other being removed from the call-box A, so thatthe clapper lies between the call-bell and the tube, and

when vibrated strikes both the bell and the tube, or a plate secured to said tube, or by means of a hood covering both call-bells and connected with tuhe,whereb v the sound isdistinctly conveyed to all of the apartments into which the tube I extends. A person in any the rooms would thus hear the call, and by going to the call-box in said room could answer the ring by first operating the lever d to depfiess the button, and then turning the crankdisk J, as before described. By then operating the lever c the receiver 0 would be sealed to the tube E, and by placing the month-piece ot' the tube Etc the ear and speaking into the mouth-pieceot'thetnbe l conversationcould be carried on without the nccessityof going into the room containing the telephone, and thus the convenience of the telephone is greatly enhanced aml its capabilities enlarged. It will be further-observed that to so connect a telephone to speaking-tubes no alteration or dei'acemcnt ofthe telephone is necessitated, further than the removing of one of the/call-bells, (and that .is optional,) which could be restored when the telephonewas remo ed, and the employment of the drum L upt l the crankshaft, which could be instantly removed under like Circumstances, and which by a modification of my dc ice is avoided.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modification which consists .in hanging the receiver 0 to a springt'ork which is independent of the circuit-lever fork, and which holds the receiver constantly sealed to the mouth of the tube 10. This construction would dispense with the necessity of having means for drawing the receiverup every time it was desired to connect it to the tube. In such case the circuit lever would have to be held down by a catch or weight, and means would'have to be employed for raising this levcr every time itwas desired to establish the. circuit. The same means might be used that 1 have described for raisingthe receiver. It also consists in the employment oi'a single tube for both transmitting and receiving, with branches, one of which, A, extends to the telephone or receiver, and the other, ll, to the transmitter or microphone.

The modification shown in Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is adapted more particularly for hotels, stores, aml large buildings with a number of rooms. in this case the .tubes from all the rooms, whether single or in pairs for each room, are. brought out together in a. bunch, or side by side, and in suitable proximity to the telephone. l lach tube would bc'provided with a whistle or call in the usual or any suitable way, and the transmitter, as well as the receiver, of the telephone should be adjustable, so as to be capable of attachment to any of the single or doublespeaking-tubes, as shown; or, should the transmitter or microphone be stationary, a flexible coupling-tube could be used to connect any of the speali'ing-tubes to the microphone.

Where single tubes are used for both 'transmitting' hnd receiving in either of the abovedescribed systems the constrluztion shown in Fig. 3 might be employed. where C is the speaking mouth-piece, and l :1 flexible receiving-tube to be placed to the ear while speaking, the flexible receiver might be pressed with the finger and thumb to cut oil the sound and prevent the person from speakingdirectlyinto his own ear, and as soon as the person was done speaking the tube 1) might be released and the reply received thci'ethrough.

\Vith the system shown in Sheet 2 the operation would be as follows: We will suppose. that a call is made for the occupant ol :1. par ticular roomsay No. 205. The person at the telephone would call up through the tube or tubes to room 205 and say that. some one wanted to talk to him lhrohgh the telephone. The person at ,the telephone would then eonnect the telephone, as before explained, with No. 205 speaking-tube, and conversation could then be carried on by the occupant of the room and the caller. For the occupant of a room to call an outsider, t'heopcration would be merely reversed, as is clearly obvious.

Various modifications might be employed without dc 'iartiug from the nature and spirit of my invention, so that i. do not purpose to be limited to the details described: but.

llaving ihusi'ullw described my inv ntion. 1 claim-- 1. The combination of a telephouelocated l roomsor places, and with connections leading in one room or place with a tube or tubes leading from a remote room or place to said telephone, and with means for connecting at .will said tube or tubes to the telephone bythe operator at the remote room or place, substai1-.

tially as described. 4

2. The combination of the telephone located in one room-orfplace, with a tube or tubes leading from a remote-room or place to said telephone, with means for connecting at will said tube or tubes to the telephone by the operator at the remote room or place, and with means, substantially as described, for sending .andreceiving signals from and at said remote room or place. v

3. The C(lubillitlilOIl, witha telephonic appa rutus for transmitting'and receiving sounds or I speech, and with apparatus for sending andreceiving signals, all located in one room or place,of a tube or tubes leading from a remote room or place to said telephonic and signaling apparatus, means for connecting at will 'said tube or tubes .to the telephonic apparatus by the operator at the remote room or place, and other means,substantiallylljasjfljdescribed,

for operating the signaling mechanismfrom said remote room or place, substantially as described. ,I p

4. The combinationofta telephonic apparatus for transmitting and-receiving speech, and a signaling apparatus,a1l located in one room or place, with a tube or series of tubes connecting two or more remote rooms or places with the telephonicapparatus, and with means, sub-, stantiallyas described, controlled by the op-.

- erators at the several remote rooms or places,

located at one room or place, with the tube or f tubes connecting such telephonic apparatus with one orjmore remoteirooms or places, and with a calling dlsk or drumat each of such remote rooms or places, connected by cords or .wires with the disk-or'drum'on-the shaft of the first-mentioned call-box, substantially as de-i scribed,and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination ofthe telephonic instrument in one room or place, having itsreceivingtelephone suspended on the arm beneath the mouthof a tube'leadingtoone or more remote the remote rooms or from said remote rooms or places to the lever which supports the telephone, whereby a person at'either-of the remote roomsor places may raise the supporting-lever and seal the telephone to the mouth of the tube, substantially' as described. v

7. The combination, with the push-button of the signaling apparatus located at one room or place, of ;a, lever for pressing uponljsaid clapper or bell-lever beingarranged in proximity to said tube, so that its vibration will cause it to strike the tube and indicate the signal at the remote rooms or places, substantially as described.

9. The combination, substantially as de scribed, at one room or place, of the telephone, transmitter, the telephone-receiver hung upon the switch-arm, the push-button and the lever for pressing it, the calLbox havingthe drum upon its shaft, with tubes connecting remote rooms or places with the telephone receiver and transmitter,respectively, and the several cordsor wires and connections for raising the switch-lever for operating the push-button lever, and i'or rotating the call-bell shaftxfrom places,..substantially as described.

10. The mhination of a telephone located in one room or place,-with two or more independent tubes leading from one or more remote rooms or places to the room where the telephone is located, and withmeans whereby said 

